Right now, I am really starting to wonder if everything is going to come together and the reunion this weekend will be a success or if it’s all going to flop. Party planner cold feet I call it. I have found it very hard to plan this thing from afar. I have yet to see the venue although I trust that it will be great. I have no idea how many people will attend having only gotten a few advance registrations. And there are several people that I really wanted to meet that won’t be able to make it. It is hard when so many of us have moved live far away from each other. I have met some great family researchers that I would dearly love to see. But then I know that the family that are coming will be great and we will enjoy our time together. I have been worrying about the whole “food” thing and the “entertainment” thing all along and I still don’t have it nailed down and probably won’t until I get there Thursday. The food thing I know I will figure out but I am really lost when it comes to entertainment. I mean really, as a genealogist my best entertainment is researching, telling stories, and looking at old pictures. Not sure that would keep their attention. I envisioned all the talented family members stepping forward and volunteering but that hasn’t happened. I do have some kids willing to do a skit so I will just have to build on that. See, I am trying to be flexible, even though it is my nature to be a bit of a control freak. I would really rather have everything planned out and everybody rehearsed and in their places, ha!

I have this rolling movie in my mind of how I want this thing to go down. I plan on arriving a day early so I can scope out the venue and do a little bit of last minute research in town. Then Friday, I will arrive at the building early and start setting up. At some point I will have to go buy groceries. Registration starts at 2 and at 3 people can go tour Wessel’s Living History Farm nearby. I would love to take this tour but will have to see how things are going with registration. That evening will be a friendly mixer with music and finger foods. Saturday morning I was planning for it to be a time of talking and looking at pictures, displays, and slideshows and then having outside games in the afternoon but because of the heat I think I may have to switch those. Maybe some croquet, hula hooping, horseshoes, etc in the morning. Then a large family lunch (not sure exactly what yet). Then the hot afternoon can be spent sitting around talking. Before the dinner hour I would like for the whole family to get together for a group photo, then disperse for dinner in town. At 7pm we will start the evenings “entertainment” which will include the awarding of prizes and a raffle for the quilt by Aunt Mary along with skits, and any other “talent” that will volunteer. At 10 the next morning we will meet at Council Church, where several generations of our family worshipped, for some hymns and maybe a short sermon. Then we can tour the family cemetery before we end the reunion. In my mind of course it all goes off without a hitch. But in reality there is still so much that is up in the air I really can’t see how it is all going to work out.

My husband wonders why I put myself through this. Well, I did this because I just really want to and also I know that no matter what happens, memories will be made and we will all learn more about what it means to be family and about our heritage. The old will share with the young, oral traditions will be passed down and when our children grow up they will remember and maybe they will be proud to be descendants of Nebraska pioneers!

First I have to figure out how I am going to get all my genealogy “stuff” packed into the mini-van along with three kids and all our gear. Another road trip but this time I have a van with stow and go seats and a DVD player, what a lifesaver! I’ll let you know how things work out next week sometime, after I unpack and get some sleep.

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About Rosanna Ward

Rosanna is a devoted wife of 20 years and mother of four children, two of which are homeschool graduates. She currently homeschools her 8-year-old son and her youngest son is a toddler. Rosanna is a homeschool graduate and a graduate of Oral Roberts University: She grew up in Tulsa and has been homeschooling here for the past eight years. Her mission at Tulsa Homeschool Happenings is to provide a “one-stop” local community hub online that will help homeschooling families in our area fulfill their individual missions while connecting with the greater homeschooling community.